Swingable wash basin for compact shower-room

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to an arrangement, which reduces the space requirement for a hygiene-room by dual utilization of the floor surface fixtures of said room. A hygiene-room is defined as a room containing a wash-basin, shower-bath, water-closet etc.

United States Patent 1 Ekstrom [54] SWINGABLE WASH BASIN FOR COMPACT SHOWER-ROOM [76] Inventor: Lars Ekstrom, ll, Stallbacken,

Djursholm, Sweden [22] Filed: Oct. 27,1971

21 App]. No.: 193,069

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data l 1March 13, 1973 1,789,899 1/1931 Guinness ..4/168 1,990,355 2/1935 Tierney ..4/169 UX 2,184,722 12/1939 McLoughlin ..4/169 2,443,214 6/1948 Williams ..4/DIG. 2

Primary Examiner-Henry K. Artis Attorney-Sommers & Young 57 ABSTRACT This invention relates to an arrangement, which reduces the'space requirement for a hygiene-room by dual utilization of the floor surface fixtures of said room. A hygiene-room is defined as a room containing a wash-basin, shower-bath, water-closet etc.

4 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures SWINGABLE WASH BASIN FOR COMPACT SHOWER-ROOM The floor surface in a hygiene-room can be divided into the areas required for the installation of the sanitary units and into that or those areas required for providing the user with sufficient space to use said units. In most hygiene-rooms a certain part of the floor surface is utilized for a dual purpose, in such a way, that two or more sanitary units have in common one such area of movability. There exist, however, also solutions in which areas are common to the sanitary units, which require that of two units acting together in this way one can be moved aside temporarily by swinging or parallel displacement. The effect or value of such a dual utilization depends on a number of factors, of which the most important are a saving of floor space, installation costs, improved function and greater comfort. The saving of floor space is of considerable economic importance, which, however, in many cases is exceeded by the economic consequences resulting from that the edge measures in the plane circumscribing the hygiene-room can be reduced and thereby, for example, render possible a structural alteration or modernization. In addition more sleeping accommodation can be arranged within a given front wall length or at modular projecting an entire modulus width can be saved. In this connection it is also essential that a certain surface saving is economically more important in a small room than in a large room, due to the greater shortening of wall length in the small room. v

The present invention can be applied in many different types of hygiene-rooms and as described here is applied in such hygiene-rooms, which include WC, wash-basin and shower. The invention is characterized in that the wash-basin is mounted on a swingable wall portion, which is laterally suspended on one of the vertical surfaces defining the room via a rotary suspension meansso disposed that the swingable wall portion can assume both a position parallel with and adjacent to one of the vertical surfaces defining the room and a position angular to the aforesaid position and adjacent to one of the remaining sanitary units of the room, in which latter position the wash-basin is located above at least a part of said sanitary unit, and the space, which in the firstmentioned position was occupied by the washbasin, becomes free for use for another purpose, preferably as a shower-place, and at the same time the swingable wall portion forms a screen wall between, on one side, the free space thus established, and, on the other side, the wash-basin inclusive of devices and details necessary for its use and the sanitary unit located at least partially below the wash-basin.

Shower-rooms of the usual type can be inscribed in the horizontal plane in a right-angled rectangle with the edge measures of about 130 X 220 cm or about 160 X 170 cm, which edge measures provide floor surfaces of 2.86 and, respectively, 2.72 sq.meters. With the present invention the edge measures can be reduced, for example, to about 120 X 150 cm or about 100 X 160 cm, resulting in floor surfaces of about 1.80 and, respectively, 1.60 sq. meters without upsetting the function or reducing the space available for moving in by the user compared with normal shower-rooms of a greater size. This surface saving of more than 1 sq. meter can be increased still more when using a transverse WC, which is not yet in production, whereby the edge measurements are reduced to about X 140 cm, and the surface requirement will be about half that of normal shower-rooms. It will become evident from the following that the' invention also involves a reduction of the installation costs of the sanitary equipment in a shower-room.

To illustrate the above, a drawing with eight FIGS. is attached, all of which are drawn on the same scale, the edge measurements in FIG. 1 being and, respectively 220 cm.

FIGS. 1-3 are plans of some conventional showerrooms,

FIGS. 4-6 are plans rendered possible by the present invention,

FIG. 7 is a vertical section through the shower-room, the plan of which is shown in FIG. 4,

FIG. 8 is the plan of a conventional bath-room and illustrates how the present invention can be applied therein.

The saving of floor space is achieved in that the wash-basin as shown in FIG. 7 is mounted on a wall portion 1, which is laterally suspended on hinges 2 or on another rotary suspension means so that the wall portion can be swung from a position in parallel with and adjacent to one of the room walls to a position adjacent to the water-closet, see FIGS. 4 and 5, whereby the wash-basin will rest above the water-closet bowl and a free space for showering, for example, is established. The swingable wall portion, in the latter position shown by broken lines in FIGS. 4 and 5, forms a screen wall and prevents shower splash from reaching the water-closet and the mirror and other' details located on the wash-basin side of the wall portion.

The water supply to the wash-basin can be so arranged that a shower mixing tap with ejector for the wash-basin is mounted near the wash-basin on one of the stationary walls of the room and a recess 3 made in the swingable wall portion, so that the ejector reaches over the wash-basin, the control means of the mixing tap can be reached, and the swinging of the wall portion is not obstructed. In this way a wash-basin mixing tap is saved as well as the cold and hot water lines to such a tap. The spray-nozzle of the shower can be mounted in an arbitrary place and may be stationary or connected to a hose. In FIG. 4 the spray-nozzle is shown located to the side of the wash-basin, in FIG. 5 above the swingable wall portion, and in FIG. 6 in the upper edge of the swingable wall portion, in which latter case the shower spray-nozzle follows with the swingablewall portion and unintentional showering is prevented in that the spray-nozzle is directed to the stationary room wall behind the swingable wall portion. Unintentional showering when the wash-basin is in an operational position can be prevented by stop means and other simple means. It is also possible to provide a separate wash-basin mixing tap, possibly mounted on the swingable wall portion and fed via a rotary coupling or hose.

The waste water from the wash-basin is led via a pipe 4, which at its lower end is centered in the rotation center line of the wall portion, to a floor sink or to a loose socket or funnel for being led further to a sink provided in the floor or mounted on a wall. Hereby are saved a water seal for the wash-basin and also a waste pipe from the wash-basin which is laid in the floor or walls.

The swingable wall portion can be provided at its lower edge with a flexible rubber scraper 5 serving as a seal against the floor. When the wall portion is swung to the position in which the water-closet or wash-basin can be used, the rubber scraper moves aside the major part of the water which after showering remains on the floor.

A shower-area can be established in a normal bathroom, see FIG. 8, in the same way as that described above for a shower-room. The shower space thereby obtained can be used with less risk than one in the bathtub, above all by elderly and handicapped persons.

When instead, as shown in FIG. 8, the wash-basin is swung over the bath-tub, a free space is obtained, from which a person bound to a wheel-chair can be moved or move over to the water-closet. By mounting the hinges on a wall portion laterally suspended to the other direction, the two rotary movements shown in FIG. 8 can be carried out alternatively.

Several different designs of the swingable wall portion can be imagined which, however, are not basically of interest. FIG. 6 illustrates the wall portion being provided with a fold and how the installations of wall-sink, wall-mounted water-closet, mixing fittings and hinges can be facilitated by a prefabricated outside chase.

Above the shower area in the shower-rooms shown in FIGS. 4-6, there is a space below the ceiling, which is undisturbed by the swingable wall portion and in which, for example, a plastic trough or a small bath-tub can be stored and at demand be lowered to the floor or to any arbitrary height to be used for the bathing of children, washing laundry, etc.

What I claim is:

1. A hygiene-room in which the wash-basin is arranged displaceable between two or more positions, characterized in that the wash-basin is mounted on a swingable wall portion, which is laterally suspended in one of the vertical surfaces defining the room via a rotary suspension means so disposed that the swingable wall portion can assume both a position in parallel with and adjacent to one of the vertical surfaces defining the" room and a position angular to said first position and adjacent to one of the remaining installation units of the room, in which latter position the wash-basin is located above at least a part of said installation unit, and the space, which in the first-mentioned position was occupied by the wash-basin, becomes free to be used for another purpose, preferably as a shower-place, and at the same time the swingable wall portion forms a screen wall between, on one side, the free space thus established and, on the other side, the wash-basin inclusive of devices and details necessary for its use and the installation unit located at least partially below the wash-basin.

2. A hygiene-room according to claim 1, characterized in that the water supply of the wash-basin is arranged via a mixing fitting, which may serve also as a shower mixing tap and is mounted on one of the stationary surfaces defining the hygiene-room near the wash-basin when it is in an operative position, and that a recess can be provided in the swingablewall portion such that the ejector of the fitting reaches over the wash-basin, the control device of the fitting can be reached by the user of the wash-basin, and the fitting does not obstruct a change in position of the swingable wall portion,

3. A hygiene-room according to claim 1, characterized in that the outlet of the wash-basin is connected to a water, seal in the floor or walls of the room via a simple or rotary two-part duct, which with some part extends concentrically with the rotation center line of the swingable wall portion.

4. A hygiene-room according to claim 1, characterized in that the swingable wall portion along the lower edge is provided with an elastic scraper such adjusted, that it prevents water on the floor of the hygiene-room to pass below the swingable wall portion and that it upon turning of the swingable wall portion removes the water on that floor part of the hygieneroom which is swept by the swingable wall portion.

III l 

1. A hygiene-room in which the wash-basin is arranged displaceable between two or more positions, characterized in that the wash-basin is mounted on a swingable wall portion, which is laterally suspended in one of the vertical surfaces defining the room via a rotary suspension means so disposed that the swingable wall portion can assume both a position in parallel with and adjacent to one of the vertical surfaces defining the room and a position angular to said first position and adjacent to one of the remaining installation units of the room, in which latter position the wash-basin is located above at least a part of said installation unit, and the space, which in the first-mentioned position was occupied by the wash-basin, becomes free to be used for another purpose, preferably as a shower-place, and at the same time the swingable wall portion forms a screen wall between, on one side, the free space thus established and, on the other side, the wash-basin inclusive of devices and details necessary for its use and the installation unit located at least partially below the wash-basin.
 1. A hygiene-room in which the wash-basin is arranged displaceable between two or more positions, characterized in that the wash-basin is mounted on a swingable wall portion, which is laterally suspended in one of the vertical surfaces defining the room via a rotary suspension means so disposed that the swingable wall portion can assume both a position in parallel with and adjacent to one of the vertical surfaces defining the room and a position angular to said first position and adjacent to one of the remaining installation units of the room, in which latter position the wash-basin is located above at least a part of said installation unit, and the space, which in the first-mentioned position was occupied by the wash-basin, becomes free to be used for another purpose, preferably as a shower-place, and at the same time the swingable wall portion forms a screen wall between, on one side, the free space thus established and, on the other side, the wash-basin inclusive of devices and details necessary for its use and the installation unit located at least partially below the wash-basin.
 2. A hygiene-room according to claim 1, characterized in that the water supply of the wash-basin is arranged via a mixing fitting, which may serve also as a shower mixing tap and is mounted on one of the stationary surfaces defining the hygiene-room near the wash-basin when it is in an operative position, and that a recess can be provided in the swingable wall portion such that the ejector of the fitting reaches over the wash-basin, the control device of the fitting can be reached by the user of the wash-basin, and the fitting does not obstruct a change in position of the swingable wall portion.
 3. A hygiene-room according to claim 1, characterized in that the outlet of the wash-basin is connected to a water seal in the floor or walls of the room via a simple or rotary two-part duct, which with some part extends concentrically with the rotation center line of the swingable wall portion. 